WHY DO SOME AUDIOPHILES TRY TO TELL OTHERS WHAT THEY CAN OR CAN’T HEAR IN A SYSTEM?

I don’t think it’s my job to know everything possible between your ears and your brain.  It's certainly possible with proper training a neural network could pick out the difference in the number of strands of wire used between power cable X and Y.

However I do think it’s possible to be such a critic you lose the ability to enjoy fine equipment and fine music. I’d rather be some one who can have a great $12 bottle of wine and enjoy it than someone who endlessly critiques a $300 bottle. Worse yet, I’d hate to be someone who endlessly critiques a $5 bottle of wine either.

Along those lines, we seek out demanding speakers to pair them with excessive amplifier power for the sake of... well honestly I do not know.

We chase after a tiny difference and throw hundreds of dollars or more at the slightest difference without concern for whether it’s worth the asking price.

I have spent a great deal of my audiophile life listening for nuance and critiquing and now it’s time for me to listen to the musicians and I’m happy to do that with equipment far less expensive than whatever graces the cover of Stereophile.

IMHO, there is a great variance in what people are able to hear, and what they are not. Some of it may be their actual hearing acuity, the resolution of their system/ears, their training, there are so many factors. How presumptuous to tell someone what they are hearing.

Pre covid, I attended lots of concerts, and simply do not hear the kind of soundstage that many audiophiles prefer. No problem to me if they like the effect, or if they hear that type of soundstage in the concert hall, we all pay our money and can do what we like.

An audiophile here here argued that I did hear pinpoint imaging in the concert hall and that I was was disingenuous in reporting otherwise. Hey, maybe my hearing just sucks. I wish that I could allow him to hear through my ears.

Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition. The problem with it is we see it in other people, and we don't see it in ourselves. The first rule of the Dunning–Kruger club is you don't know you're a member of the Dunning–Kruger club.

David Dunning

Erik, exactly.

About to become very close to the age of 80, I still find myself fighting the urge to upgrade or experiment. That's a battle I feel I've mostly won. Considering what I had and could afford throughout most of my life, I feel I've achieved a level now that makes me happy. The other important truth that I've come to learn is that (at least for me) the chase is where the thrill is. Once you have what you thought you should have, the itch starts up again.

So, yes. I'm extremely happy with what I have now and for a totally outlay of less than many here spend on a pair of speaker cables. Not to denigrate those that have high dollar audio systems, but we all have to set limits, find our comfort zone and enjoy the music. If you are happy with your system, ignore what others think and enjoy.

@artemus_5   &   @gdaddy1

Dunning–Kruger Effect

                EXACTLY!